Cultural appropriation of books, music, art, cooking and traditional dress has been used by Zionists as a weapon against Palestinians since the creation of the Israeli state, and this week, Israel struck again by appropriating the Palestine Viper.

The Palestinian Authority is offended that Israel has chosen as the national snake the "viper of Palestine" after the Israeli Parks and Nature Authority called on citizens to elect their "national snake".

Against all odds, a viper has groomed the pawn to the favorite, a snake whose mere mention of the name would make any adventurer anxious: the Demansia vestigiata.

This rebound aside, the initiative of the body, which depends on the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Israel, seems innocuous.

It was without counting on the name of the winner, who answers the sweet name of "Viper of Palestine".

Once elected, the venomous beast has all the more poisoned the relations between the two neighbors.

As mentioned, Israel has a long history of culturally appropriating Palestinian identity, even their dress.

Palestinian women can justifiably be proud of the traditional Arab dress, as would any of its creations.

These clothes, scarves and other incredibly complex accessories, embroidered by hand, are deeply rooted in the Arab world, especially in Greater Syria.

The know-how to develop these creations has been passed down from generation to generation, and their authenticity as well as their artistic character are beyond doubt.

The Palestinian dress, in particular, is so refined that one can identify one's place of origin in Palestine solely from the colors and patterns of the embroidery.

Yet even the Palestinian habit has not been immune from the shameless practices of theft and appropriation of Israelis. In his superb book Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean, Basem Ra'ad writes:

"An Israeli book devoted to embroidery, Arabesque: Decorative Needlework from the Holy Land, begins with the" biblical epoch "and ends with photographs of Israeli adults and children wearing the embroidered clothes of Palestinian villagers (who came from for many villages that Palestinians were forced to flee in 1948).”

“These Israelis have staged for these photos. The book does not only appropriate a Palestinian artistic form: it imitates it. The euphemism alluding to the "Holy Land" helps hide the true Palestinian origin of this unique form of village art.”